CITY OF TUMWATER REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES SUMMARY OF REQUEST The City of Tumwater ("City") is requesting qualifications from attorneys and/or law firms interested in contracting for public defense services for indigent defendants appearing to answer criminal charges in Tumwater Municipal Court. Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, 876 cases with notice of appearance filed were assigned to a public defender. Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, 823 cases were assigned. The attorney or firm assigned will also be responsible for appearing at all arraignment calendars and providing 24-hour access to unassigned clients in police custody. In the alternative, the City will accept joint applications from attorneys or firms interested in apportioning the caseload (and arraignment calendars) among themselves. The successful applicant(s) will contract with the City for provision of public defense services as independent contractors and shall not be entitled to any City benefits. The successful applicants will be responsible for performance of all of the obligations under contract in conformance with the Rules of Professional Responsibility and the Washington State Bar Association: http://www.wsba.org/legal-community/committees-boards-and-other- Groups/~/media/Files/Legal%20Community/Committees_Boards_Panels/Council% 20on%20Public%20Defense/Standards%20for%20Indigent%20Defense%20Servic es%20(2011).ashx The term of the contract(s) will be for twenty-one (21) months, beginning April 1, 2012 and concluding December 31, 2013 with conditions for extension provided. Presently, the City's regular court calendar is held on Mondays and Thursdays. The successful applicant must also appear as assigned for other hearings as scheduled by the Municipal Court. TIME SCHEDULE Proposals will be accepted until noon, March 2, 2012. Faxed applications will not be accepted. Issue RFQ February 12, 2012 Publish The Olympian February 12, 2012 Deadline for Submittal for Responses to RFQ March 2, 2012, Noon Interviews Week of March 12, 2012 Contract Award No later than March 30, 2012
APPLICATION PROCESS All applications must include the following information: 1. The names, bar number(s) and qualifications of the attorney(s) who will be providing public defense services and their areas of responsibility. 2. Specific experience of the attorney(s) in courts of limited jurisdiction, with emphasis on criminal cases. 3. A proposed outline of the method by which the applicant will make public defense services available to residents of Tumwater as well as to indigent defendants residing in surrounding areas. This outline should include location of attorney office, accessibility by telephone to defendants without incurring long distance charges, and office hours or appointment times scheduled for the attorney. 4. How the attorney(s) and/or firms who will be providing public defense services meet the Bar Association s Standards for Indigent Defense Services. 5. Any criminal or professional disciplinary findings that have been entered against any of the attorneys who will be providing public defense services, regardless of originating jurisdiction. 6. A monthly base bid, with a proposed budget based on the above outline of tasks, products and schedules. A flat fee proposal is preferred. 7. The name and cost of a conflict attorney in the event that the Public Defender has a conflict with representing an individual. 8. Three (3) references, include names and phone numbers. Application must be clearly marked RFQ- Public Defender and submitted to: Melody Valiant City Clerk City of Tumwater 555 Israel Rd. SW Tumwater, WA 98501 cityclerk@ci.tumwater.wa.us SELECTION CRITERIA Factor Weight Given 1. Reputation and qualifications of the specific individuals to be assigned to act as Public Defender, including ability and history of successfully completing contracts of this type, meeting deadlines, and experience in similar work, with consideration given to references: 40% 2. Responsiveness of the written proposal to the purpose and scope of service: 20%. 3. Competitiveness of fee structure: 40%. Total Criteria Weight 100%. Each proposal will be independently evaluated on factors (1) through (3). TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. The City reserves the right to reject any and all applications and to waive minor irregularities in any proposal.
2. The City reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted and to request additional information from any applicant. 3. The City reserves the right to award any contract to the next most qualified applicant if the successful applicant does not execute a contract within one week after the applicant has been notified of selection. 4. The City shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by the firm in preparing, submitting or presenting its response to the RFQ. SCOPE OF SERVICES A. General Description. Pursuant to Chapter 10.101 RCW, all indigent criminal defendants must be provided with effective legal representation. The City of Tumwater has adopted standards for the provision of public defense services as required by state law. The Supreme Court of Washington is currently reviewing adoption of Court Rules Cr R 3.1, CrRLJ 5.1 and JuCR 9.2. Proposers and the selected contractors should be aware of the potential for adjustment of the standards for the provision of services during the life of the contract. Copies of public defense standards adopted by the City are available upon request from the City Clerk of Tumwater and are incorporated in the draft contract for services included in the Request for Proposal. Proposers are alerted that service standards may be adopted during 2012 and adjusted throughout the contract term in order to comply with state law and changes in Supreme Court rule. The Public Defender will provide legal representation for eligible defendants from court appointment or screening through trial, sentencing, post-conviction review and any appeals to Superior Court. The Public Defender, or subcontractor of the Public Defender, will: (A) attend all court hearings required by the Washington Court or Local Court Rules now or hereafter adopted; (B) attend all hearings and trials involving defendants on whose behalf the Public Defender has been appointed; and (C) be available to talk with and meet, in person, eligible indigent defendants that may be in jail at an office location at the City. B. Term. Public Defender services will commence on April 1, 2012 for a term of twentyone (21) months; terminating on December 31, 2013. C. Screening. Determination of indigency for eligibility for appointed counsel for this contract will be determined by an independent screening process established by the City pursuant to RCW 10.101. The City will be responsible for the costs and handling of the screening process. D. Reporting. The Public Defender shall file monthly reports with the Finance Director delineating each client who has been appointed to the Public Defender, including the name(s), charge(s), cause number(s), disposition, bench or jury trial (as applicable), and whether an appeal was filed. The report shall designate whether the client was appointed by a judge of the court or through the independent screening process. The report is due on
or before the tenth (10th) day of the following month for services of the prior month. The report shall be in electronic format, Microsoft Excel. E. Associated Counsel. All attorneys who provide public defense services under the contract with the City must be acceptable to the City and must be approved in advance by the City to perform public defense services under the City s agreement. No legal interns shall be used unless agreed to in advance by the City. F. Attorney Conflict. In the event the Public Defender must withdraw from a case because of a conflict of interest, the Public Defender shall refer the defendant to another attorney competent and able to provide legal services to indigents. The City shall pay the cost of conflict counsel. The prohibitions contained in Rules for Professional Conduct shall apply. G. Twenty-four Hour Telephone Access. The Public Defender shall provide the Tumwater Police Department the telephone number or numbers at which the Public Defender can be reached for critical advice to defendants during the course of police investigations and/or arrests twenty-four (24) hours each day. Public Defender will develop and use a process to obtain translators for contact with persons arrested by the Tumwater Police who do not speak English to assure representation of indigents for 24- hour call service. H. Arraignments. The Public Defender assigned shall be responsible for assuring that a defense attorney is present at all arraignments at no additional cost to the City. I. Professional Liability Coverage. During the term of the Contract, the Public Defender shall have professional liability coverage in a minimum amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) each occurrence with an aggregate of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000). The successful applicants will be required to provide proof of insurance to the City. J. Indemnification. The Public Defender will be required to indemnify, defend and hold the City, its elected officials and employees, agents and volunteers harmless from any and all claims, losses or liability, including all costs and attorney's fees, arising out of the Public Defender's performance of obligations pursuant to the Contract, including claims arising by reason of accident, injury or death caused to persons or property of any kind occurring by the fault or negligence of the Public Defender, his or her associates, agents and employees. To the extent that any of the damages referenced by this paragraph are caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence of the City, its agents or employees, this obligation to indemnify, defend and hold harmless will be valid and enforceable only to the extent of the negligence of the Public Defender, its officers, associates, agents and employees. K. Discovery Period. The City shall provide to the Public Defender at no cost to the Public Defender or the defendant one (1) copy of all discoverable materials concerning each assigned case with the exception of audio and video tapes which shall be made
available for inspection in accordance with rules for discovery. Public Defender will have fax and email available. L. Code Provided. The City shall provide the Public Defender with an electronic link to the City of Tumwater Municipal Code. M. Assignment or Subcontractors. The contract for public defense services may not be assigned or subcontracted without the prior written consent of the City. N. Standards for Public Defense Services. The Public Defenders will be required to comply with the standards for public defense services adopted by the City pursuant to Chapter 10.101 RCW. http://www.wsba.org/legal-community/committees-boards-and-other- Groups/~/media/Files/Legal%20Community/Committees_Boards_Panels/Council% 20on%20Public%20Defense/Standards%20for%20Indigent%20Defense%20Servic es%20(2011).ashx Upon selection, each Public Defender shall submit an affidavit to the City Clerk, stating that the Public Defender is in compliance with such standards. O. Readiness. The Public Defenders are expected to be prepared to proceed at every stage of the criminal proceedings, unless restricted by circumstances outside of the Public Defender s control. The Public Defenders will be expected to make every effort to come to scheduled court hearings and calendars prepared to proceed on all assigned cases. COMPENSATION A. Applicants must submit detailed information on the firm s proposed fee schedule. The fee schedule should include a monthly fixed rate for up to and including sixty (60) cases. The fee schedule should spell out any variations for non-routine services. Services covered by this RFQ that are not explicitly identified as non-routine will be assumed to be included in the basic per case cost. B. Payment by the City for the services will only be made after the services have been performed and an itemized billing statement is submitted in the form specified by the City and approved by the appropriate City representative. Payment shall be made on a monthly basis, within thirty (30) days after receipt of such billing statement. TERMINATION A. The City may terminate its contract with a Public Defender for convenience on sixty (60) days notice or on thirty (30) days notice only for violation of the terms of the contract, violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct (including initiation of disciplinary proceedings by the Washington State Bar Association), or for failure to comply with the City s Standards for Indigent Defense Services. A termination for cause shall be effective immediately where the nature of the cause for termination presents an immediate threat of harm or liability to the City or a Defendant.
B. The Public Defender will not terminate its contract with the City unless the Public Defender is unable to carry out the terms of the contract. If the Public Defender determines that they are not able to carry out the terms of the contract, they shall provide the City with not less than ninety (90) days written notice so that the City may obtain another contractor.